A DUBLIN COLLEGE was given a nonsensical Irish-language name as part of a re-brand earlier this year, despite being warned by a translation service against the name change because it would be meaningless.

The City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) re-named the college formerly known as Coláiste Dhúlaigh as part of a wider re-brand of the further education institutes under its remit.

Email correspondence sent to CDETB officials and first reported by Tuairisc.ie shows how a translator strongly advised against using the name Dhúlaigh on its own in the re-brand.

The name of the college was changed to City of Dublin FET College Dhúlaigh, Coolock, Kilbarrack, Raheny.

The college, which has campuses in Coolock, Kilbarrack and Raheny on the northside of Dublin, offers dozens of courses from post Leaving Certificate level up to BA degrees.

The word Dhúlaigh is the genitive of the name Dúlach, a saint after whom the college was named; however, the word is not in the genitive case in the college’s re-branded name, and its use is therefore incorrect.  

In an email sent on 4 February, received by Tuairisc under FOI and also seen by The Journal, college principal Patricia O’Brien suggested removing the ‘h’ from Dhúlaigh “as it is only used when [the word] Coláiste is in front of it”.

However, in an email response on 27 February, a marketing official at CDETB relayed a quote from a translation service who said the name would not work – either by dropping the ‘h’ or using Dhúlaigh on its own.

The translator outlined that the word Dhúlaigh on its own would not be grammatically correct because it was in the genitive form.

“The name doesn’t make sense as College Dúlaigh, and I would avoid this if at all possible,” the translator is reported to have said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the college said it engaged a professional translator to translate English names into Irish, and also consulted with staff who are “advocates for and fluent in” Irish.

It also said that the college felt that changing from Dhúlaigh to the grammatically correct Dúlach would “remove the historical connection and importance of the name”.

“Brand recognition and maintaining continuity of awareness were important considerations in the City of Dublin FET College launch project,” a statement added.

“For this reason, it was decided to retain the word Dhúlaigh in the centre name title.”